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Cyanobacterial Detection in Human Kidney Formalin-Fixed Paraffin Embedded Specimens from Cancer and Non-Cancer Populations
Get PDFTreprostinil inhibits functional activation of scleroderma (SSc) vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs) by inhibiting Yap and activating PPARG signaling.
Get PDFBackground:
Progressive vascular wall thickness and fibrosis are the hallmarks of SSc vasculopathy. Overexpression of TGFB1 in SSc and activation of vSMCs are important steps in the pathogenesis of SSc vascular disease.
Objectives:
In this study, we examined the expression levels of COL1, PCNA, PFKP, IP, EP2, IP, and PTGIS in SSc skin, the effects of Treprostinil (prostacyclin analog) on cell proliferation, TGFB1-induced collagen expression in SSc-vSMCs, PPARG expression and Yap nuclear translocation.
Methods:
SSc and control skin biopsies were fixed and 10uM serial sections were cut for histological examination. vSMCs were isolated from involved skin and matched healthy subjects. The expression and distribution of collagen, PCNA, PFKP, IP, EP2, PTGIS, PPARG, and Yap were measured by immunohistochemical staining or immunofluorescent staining. Cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay. The mRNA expression levels were detected by qPCR.
Results:
The protein expression levels of collagen, PCNA, PFKP, and EP2 were increased, while the expression levels of PTGIS and IP were decreased in vSMCs of SSc-skin, compared to the control. These results suggested that defective PGI2-IP signaling in SSc-vSMCs may contribute to vessel wall thickness and vascular fibrosis in SSc. Treprostinil inhibited vSMCs proliferation, COL1A1, and PFKP mRNA expression in SSc-vSMCs in a dose-dependent fashion. Treprostinil also inhibited TGFB1-induced COL1A1 mRNA expression in SSc-vSMCs via engagement of EP2. The PPARG expression was significantly increased in treprostinil-treated SSc-vSMCs. Treprostinil decreased the nuclear location of YAP which is induced by 10%FBS and TGFB1.
Conclusion:
Defective PGI2-IP signaling in SSc-vSMCs is associated with enhanced expression of collagen, PCNA, and PFKP in SSc vessel walls. The antiproliferative and antifibrotic activity of treprostinil is mediated through the inhibition of YAP nuclear translocation and enhanced PPARG expression. YAP and PPARG might be promising therapeutic targets for the treatment of SSc-related vasculopathy.  
Methods for Teaching Literacy to Early Elementary English Learners
Get PDFThis paper focuses on the need for current and pre-service educators to learn how to effectively use instructional strategies to teach literacy to English learners. Research centers on methods that target the emergent literacy skills of English learners enrolled in kindergarten through grade three. Currently, data demonstrates that English learners are entering American public schools at an increasing rate. Early elementary educators are the first teachers that will encounter the new influx of these students. The following information examines two methods that early elementary educators can use to instruct English learners effectively and improve their language and literacy capabilities. English learners require strong emergent literacy skills to find academic success as they ascend grade levels and encounter more advanced texts
The Impact of Experiments on Students
Get PDFExperiments engage students and improve their academic performance. Studies support this claim through the use of qualitative and quantitative methods. Research also suggests that there is an emotional component to the benefits of experiments. Qualitative results showed an increase in student interest and engagement for students that participated in the experiment. Quantitative results showed an increase in academic achievement for students that participated in the experiment. Scientific discourse also showed to be a valuable component of experiments as the scientific discourse creates a stronger scientific discipline. New programs and research are also generating new ways to analyze the scientific discourse, turning qualitative data to quantitative data. Overall, experiments are useful tools to generate interest and increase academic success
Connecting Inner and Outer Peace: Buddhist Meditation Integrated with Peace Education
Get PDFConnecting inner dimensions of peace education to outer dimensions of peace education is critical for transformative peace efforts aimed at curbing a cultural of violence and moving toward a culture of peace. The cultivation of inner peace can contribute to knowledge paradigms that are supportive of peace and can provide a foundation for social action toward supporting peaceful attitudes, dispositions, values, action-orientations, behaviors and social structures. Contemplative practices/meditations are essential to education for peace because inner and outer worlds are not mutually exclusive, rather they mirror and reinforce one another. Therefore, inner violence correlates with outer violence; inner peace correlates with outer peace. Aligning both nonviolent means with nonviolent ends is essential for building sustainable, renewable peace. The connection between being peace and doing peace needs to be more deeply fostered and explored in the field of peace education
Cultivating Empathy in Students Within an English Language Arts (ELA) Classroom Through Literary and Narrative Texts
Get PDFThe relationship between empathy and literature is understudied in the English language arts context. English language arts (ELA) educators wonder if reading can produce skills beyond those of comprehension and other ELA skills within students. Although empathy can be difficult to measure, some in the English language arts education community have begun to investigate whether they can cultivate empathy, perspective-taking, and open-mindedness within their students. Through research of some studies and articles surrounding this topic, it appears that empathy can be cultivated within students through literature when paired with discussion, writing, and reflection, and that cultivating empathy within students is integral to developing critical thinking, informed, and open-minded individuals
Contacto intergrupal y repercepción como mediadores de procesos de paz intercultural: Programa de encuentros de educación para la paz.
Get PDFPartiendo del análisis de la educación intercultural y sus retos, el presente artículo plantea y discute el papel que la práctica de mindfulness, la teoría del contacto intergrupal y la práctica de la compasión puede tener en espacios de educación para la paz intercultural. Se busca problematizar la manera en la que clásicamente seentiende la educación intercultural y describir un modelo de trabajo centrado en la disminución del prejuicio. Finalmente se expone la potencialidad que espacios como el IIPE tienen para cultivar la paz intercultural y se presentan los principios, objetivos y una propuesta1 de encuentros de educación para la paz basada en elmarco conceptual previo.
Intergroup contact and reperception as mediators of intercultural peace processes: Program for peace education encounters
Starting from the analysis of intercultural education and its challenges, this article proposes and discusses the role that the practice of mindfulness, the theory of intergroup contact, and the practice of compassion can have in spaces of intercultural peace education. It seeks to problematize the way in which intercultural education is classically understood and to describe a working model focused on the reduction of prejudice. Finally, the potential that spaces such as the IIPE have to cultivate intercultural peace is presented and the principles, objectives and a proposal for peace education encounters based on the previous conceptual framework are presented
Exploring Our Perceptual Limitation
Get PDFIn my classroom, I see a black child. I hear her soft voice: “Mwalimu unaniona?Mwalimu unajua mimi nani? Mwalimu nakupenda.”2 I see her mother wearing her kitenge and kitambaa gliding gracefully toward me. I do not know where to start – their oddity is palpable. This child and her family could very well be from Mars. And I continue to wonder: If I were to reprimand her, would she cry? If I were to praise her, would she smile? Does she have any friends? Does she even need them? Is she afraid of the same things that I fear? What if not? Can I still care about this child whom I do not even understand? This child’s expression of humanity is so hard to comprehend that she becomes invisible, hidden behind her oddity as if behind a mask
Education for peace: The politics of adopting and mainstreaming peace education programs in a post-conflict setting
Get PDFEducation for peace: the politics of adopting and mainstreaming peace education programs in a post-conflict setting, by Vanessa Tinker, Bethesda, Academica Press, 2015, 262 pp., US $74.95 (hardcover), ISBN 978-1-68053-007-0